The Practice of Poetry

The Practice of Poetry workshop series was founded in 2008 based on my belief that much of what makes good poetry goes hand-in-hand with good spiritual practices: paying attention to the interaction of our inner lives and the outer world, making time for reflection, nurturing a supportive community of fellow practitioners and committing to an honest assessment of what to keep and what to let go. The practice of poetry helps us find new meaning in our experiences, and to make room for both inspiration and careful discernment in the decisions that affect our writing and our lives. The class is women only.

Poet and teacher Pauletta Hansel guides poets as each develops an existing group of poems into a unified collection which may be a poetry chapbook or chapter or “skeleton” of a larger manuscript. Activities will be geared toward strengthening both individual poems and the 12-15 poem manuscript as a whole, including drafting new poems which enhance the collection.

Please check back or contact me to express interest in future offerings of this class.